Tickling Giants (Taksler, 2016) was probably one of my favorite movies we watched this semester. I loved the style of the movie with the animations and editing of the sound and text. Dr. Bassem Youssef was charismatic right from the start, I wanted to know more. I never knew this was going on and the movie portrayed how important social media has become. It’s crazy to think that the president of Egypt felt threatened by a show. I loved the quote, “If your regime can’t take a joke, then it’s not a regime.” Dr. Bassem Youssef was risking his life, and family, every week by making a couple of jokes and trying to educate people. What I loved about him is how he always kept a smile on his face. After reading a comment telling him to kill himself he still smiled and brushed it off. To endure that type of mental and emotional pressure must not have been easy, but he handled it well. I loved how entertaining and educational this movie was. In the movie it’s mentioned, “comedy doesn’t change anything, comedy changes people, people change things.” Just a simple joke and show can have so much power. At one point, I felt like Dr. Youssef was more powerful than the Egyptian president. After watching the film not only did I feel like doing more research on Dr. Bassem Youssef but watching more of Taksler’s films.
